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SustainableGrowth & Development

Subcommittee Report

Committee for a Sustainable Emerald Coast

May 17, 2007

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Subcommittee Process and Products

Five work sessions to date.

Broad-based participation by local and state agencies, elected officials, design

practitioners, and interest groups.

Assembled:

Key issues, principles, and guidelines.

Atlas of existing conditions: Where are we now?

Where are we headed? Comparison of business-as-usual versus

sustainable Emerald scenario.

Recommending public review of Emerald Scenario via three workshops and

UWF/Haas website.

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Preparing a Preferred Scenario

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An Information Base: The Atlas – Where Are We Now?

Transportation

Major Regional Roads

Traffic Counts

Pedestrian Areas and Bike Routes

Transit Service

Aviation, Rail, and Port

Public Services

Parks & Schools

Water & Wastewater Facilities

Local Governments and Regional Planning Authorities

Natural Resources

Water and Wetlands

Floodplains

Hurricane Surge Areas

Water Resource Caution Areas

Protected Lands

Biodiversity Hot Spots

Land-Use

Existing Land-Use

Existing Military

Current Housing

Current Employment

Local Government Comp Plans

Existing Land-Use

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Key Issues and Principles for the Future

Issues

1. Fund the region’s infrastructure.

2. Connect planning and engage the public.

3. Create resilient urban development and healthy communities.

4. Protect rural character and working lands.

5. Establish attainable workforce housing.

Principles

1. Guide local comprehensive planning with a long-range regional vision.

2. Distinguish development challenges in coastal areas versus inland areas.

3. Provide incentives for sustainable land-use planning.

4. Incorporate military needs in local plans.

5. Coordinate future school facility needs with planned development.

6. Provide efficient and safe multi-modal transportation.

7. Develop a transportation system that supports livable communities and regional vision.

8. Support comprehensive transportation corridor planning.

9. Create a range of obtainable housing opportunities.

10. Design communities that enable healthy choices.

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Framework for Issues and Principles

These components help to organize issues and principles:

People and Plans. The region’s citizens working collectively on a shared vision.

Preservation. Land protected for natural resource of military purposes.

Patterns. Location, intensity, and variety of land-uses.

Places. Distinct communities and centers.

Passages. Transportation corridors and natural greenways.

Adapted from 1000 Friends of Florida

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Scenario Evaluation with Indicators

Source: Paint the Region

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Where Are We Now?

Existing Conditions - 2006

Build-Out of Current Local Plans

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Where Are We Headed? Two Alternative Scenarios

Transportation Planning2030 Forecast

University of Florida2040 Forecast

Urban

Suburban

Conservation/Military

Rural/Agriculture

Urban

Suburban

Conservation/Military

Rural/Agriculture

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Where Would We Prefer to Go? Emerald Guidelines

PEOPLE & PLANS

Connect the region’s planning through a shared vision of success, and inform and engage the public in planning and implementing the Committee’s recommendations.

Develop and implement incentives and specific plans to ensure the achievement of the preferred Sustainable Emerald scenario.

PRESERVATION

Design a sustainable regional development strategy that will support the economic prosperity in the region and both preserve and enhance the region’s unique natural resources including its environmentally-sensitive, agricultural and recreational areas.

Preserve and protect the ability of the region’s military installations to achieve their missions.

PATTERNS

Maximize existing infrastructure consistent with the shared regional 2030 vision by focusing growth in compact regional centers.

Provide a variety of employment sites for all key economic sectors. Locate housing near existing jobs, and jobs near existing housing.

PLACES

Design flexible infill and redevelopment in existing communities that supports healthy choices by requiring through land development regulations the implementation of sidewalks, trails, bike paths etc.

Preserve and create stable, compact, neighborhoods with a sense of place within urban areas and small towns in the Emerald Coast region.

Encourage development that ensures that housing for all income levels and age groups are provided.

PASSAGES

Design corridors that connect both land use and transportation plans to advance the shared regional sustainable development vision of livable, compact, healthy and connected communities.

Establish new multimodal travel options within existing developed areas and require that new development be oriented toward multimodal travel and supportive of livable, compact, healthy and connected communities.

Protect the region’s greenway corridors that provide habitat and wildlife linkages as a part of a sustainable regional development strategy.

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Putting the Emerald Scenario on the Ground

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Multi-Modal Transportation Corridors & Nodes

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Preliminary Draft Emerald Scenario

This is a preliminary draft scenario subject to revision during public review and committee deliberations. The scenario is an illustrative concept of regional growth, not a prescriptive plan.

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Emerald Scenario With Multi-Modal Travel Framework

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Guidelines Comparison of Scenarios

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Indicators Comparison of Scenarios

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Next Steps in Scenario Planning

Incorporate committee feedback on preliminary draft of the Emerald scenario.

Refine the draft Emerald scenario with public input.

Design implementation measures.

Integrate scenario and measures into the committee’s overall recommendations.